Marjorie Spock
Encyclopedia
Marjorie Spock was an environmentalist
, author
and poet
, best known for her influence on Rachel Carson
when the latter was writing Silent Spring
. Spock was also a noted Waldorf teacher, eurythmist
, biodynamic gardener
and anthroposophist
.
, the world-renowned pediatrician and author of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
.
At 18, Spock studied at the Goetheanum
in Dornach, Switzerland where she meet and worked with Rudolf Steiner
, the founder of anthroposophy
. She was present at the "Christmas Conference" of December 25, 1923 – January 1, 1924 when the Anthroposophical Society
was refounded.
When she returned to the U.S., Spock received her BA and MA degrees from Columbia University
at the age of 38. She was a teacher and served as the head of a progressive school in New York City. She also taught at the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City and the Waldorf School of Garden City, New York. Spock worked closely with Ehrenfried Pfeiffer
for the biodynamic agriculture
movement in the U.S.
gardener on Long Island, New York. Spock complained when the government began indiscriminate aerial spraying of DDT
over wide areas of the countryside against the perceived gypsy moth
epidemic. When the spraying was not stopped, Spock brought a case with 11 other people against the United States government for the continued DDT spraying. For Spock, the concern was for people’s health and the constitutional right for a property owner to manage her land free of government infringement.
The Federal judge dismissed 72 uncontested admissions for the plaintiffs and denied their petition. When the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1960, Spock wrote daily reports to interested and influential friends of the case's progress. Rachel Carson
heard of Spock's case and soon got the daily reports. Carson used the testimony from the experts that Spock had found in her own research. Spock's case, along with a massive bird kill on Cape Cod
, provided the impetus for Carson's book, Silent Spring
.
The plaintiffs lost the case but won the right to enjoin
the government, prior to a potentially destructive environmental activity, to provide a full scientific review of the proposed action. With this right to environmental review
, Spock helped give rise to the environmental movement
.
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, best known for her influence on Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
when the latter was writing Silent Spring
Silent Spring
Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin on 27 September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement....
. Spock was also a noted Waldorf teacher, eurythmist
Eurythmy
Eurythmy is an expressive movement art originated by Rudolf Steiner in conjunction with Marie von Sivers in the early 20th century. Primarily a performance art, it is also used in education — especially in Waldorf schools - and as a movement therapy....
, biodynamic gardener
Biodynamic agriculture
Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that emphasizes the holistic development and interrelationships of the soil, plants and animals as a self-sustaining system. Biodynamic farming has much in common with other organic approaches, such as emphasizing the use of manures and composts...
and anthroposophist
Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
.
Life
Marjorie Spock was born the second child and the first daughter of six children. Her older brother was Benjamin SpockBenjamin Spock
Benjamin McLane Spock was an American pediatrician whose book Baby and Child Care, published in 1946, is one of the biggest best-sellers of all time. Its message to mothers is that "you know more than you think you do."Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis to try to understand...
, the world-renowned pediatrician and author of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
-External links:...
.
At 18, Spock studied at the Goetheanum
Goetheanum
The Goetheanum, located in Dornach , Switzerland, is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. Named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the center includes two performance halls , gallery and lecture spaces, a library, a bookstore, and administrative spaces for the Anthroposophical...
in Dornach, Switzerland where she meet and worked with Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...
, the founder of anthroposophy
Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
. She was present at the "Christmas Conference" of December 25, 1923 – January 1, 1924 when the Anthroposophical Society
Anthroposophical Society
The General Anthroposophical Society is an organization dedicated to supporting the community of those interested in the form of spiritual philosophy known as anthroposophy. The society was initiated during 1913 by members of the Theosophical Society in Germany, including Rudolf Steiner who was at...
was refounded.
When she returned to the U.S., Spock received her BA and MA degrees from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
at the age of 38. She was a teacher and served as the head of a progressive school in New York City. She also taught at the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City and the Waldorf School of Garden City, New York. Spock worked closely with Ehrenfried Pfeiffer
Ehrenfried Pfeiffer
Ehrenfried Pfeiffer was a German scientist, soil scientist, anthroposophist and disciple of Rudolf Steiner.-Life:...
for the biodynamic agriculture
Biodynamic agriculture
Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that emphasizes the holistic development and interrelationships of the soil, plants and animals as a self-sustaining system. Biodynamic farming has much in common with other organic approaches, such as emphasizing the use of manures and composts...
movement in the U.S.
Environmental activism
In the late 1950s, Marjorie Spock was a biodynamicBiodynamic
Biodynamic may refer to:*Biodynamic agriculture, a method of farming based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner*Biodynamic craniosacral therapy, based on the teachings of William Sutherland...
gardener on Long Island, New York. Spock complained when the government began indiscriminate aerial spraying of DDT
DDT
DDT is one of the most well-known synthetic insecticides. It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history....
over wide areas of the countryside against the perceived gypsy moth
Gypsy moth
The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae of Eurasian origin. Originally ranging from Europe to Asia, it was introduced to North America in the late 1860s and has been expanding its range ever since...
epidemic. When the spraying was not stopped, Spock brought a case with 11 other people against the United States government for the continued DDT spraying. For Spock, the concern was for people’s health and the constitutional right for a property owner to manage her land free of government infringement.
The Federal judge dismissed 72 uncontested admissions for the plaintiffs and denied their petition. When the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1960, Spock wrote daily reports to interested and influential friends of the case's progress. Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
heard of Spock's case and soon got the daily reports. Carson used the testimony from the experts that Spock had found in her own research. Spock's case, along with a massive bird kill on Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
, provided the impetus for Carson's book, Silent Spring
Silent Spring
Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin on 27 September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement....
.
The plaintiffs lost the case but won the right to enjoin
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
the government, prior to a potentially destructive environmental activity, to provide a full scientific review of the proposed action. With this right to environmental review
Environmental impact assessment
An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects....
, Spock helped give rise to the environmental movement
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
.
Books
- Teaching as a Lively Art
- In Celebration of the Human Heart
- Eurythmy
- To Look on Earth With More Than Mortal Eyes
- Fairy Worlds and Workers: A Natural History of Fairyland
Pamphlets
These two pamphlets have had a broad readership.- Group Moral Artistry I: Reflections on Community Building
- Group Moral Artistry II: The Art of Goethean Conversation